1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electricity-supplying connector used for charging an electric vehicle with electricity.
The present application is based on Japanese Patent Application No. Hei. 11-316663, which is incorporated herein by reference.
2. Description of the Related Art
An electricity-receiving device is mounted in an electric vehicle, and this electricity-receiving device is provided with an electricity-receiving connector. On the other hand, an electricity-supplying device is installed at a home, a supplying station and others. The electricity-supplying device is provided with an electricity-feeding connector for electrical connection to the electricity-receiving connector in a fitted manner.
FIG. 10 shows a conventional electricity-supplying connector 80 taught by Unexamined Japanese Patent Publication No. Hei. 8-78095.
As shown in FIG. 10, this electricity-supplying connector 80 comprises an electricity-feeding connector 81, and an electricity-receiving connector 82 for electrical connection to the electricity-feeding connector 81.
The electricity-feeding connector 81 comprises a connector body 84 mounted within a front half portion of a casing 83 so as to move forward and backward, a handle 85 mounted on a rear half portion of the casing 83, and a pivotally-movable lever 86 provided below the handle 85. An L-shaped cancellation lever 87 for locking the lever 86 is provided within the casing 83, and a retaining projection 88 is formed at a distal end of the cancellation lever 87. A terminal receiving chamber 89 is formed within the connector body 84, and a male terminal 91, having a coil spring 90 wound thereon, is received and retained in the terminal receiving chamber 89.
The electricity-receiving connector 82 includes a connector body 93 provided within a shell 92, and a female terminal 94 is received and retained in the connector body 93.
For fitting the electricity-feeding connector 81 and the electricity-receiving connector 82 together, the distal end portion of the casing 83 is provisionally retained in the shell 92, and the lever 86 is pivotally moved to advance the connector body 84, so that the connector bodies 84 and 93 are fitted together, thereby electrically connecting the male and female terminals 91 and 94 together.
When the two connectors 81 and 82 are thus fitted together, a retaining projection 95 on the lever 86 is engaged with the retaining projection 88 of the cancellation lever 87, thereby locking the lever 86 against pivotal movement, as shown in FIG. 11. As a result, the fitted condition is maintained.
A seal surface 96 within the casing 83 is held in contact with a packing 97, provided within the shell 92, thereby keeping the electricity-supplying connector 80 in a waterproof condition.
In the above conventional electricity-supplying connector, a large pressing force is required for fittingly connecting the electricity-feeding connector 81 to the electricity-receiving connector 82, and therefore the principle of leverage is utilized for this operation.
However, in order to obtain the larger pressing force, the electricity-supplying connector 80 itself must be formed into a larger shape. Therefore, there was encountered a disadvantage that the structure of the electricity-supplying connector 80 was complicated, so that the production cost increased.